AMD Athlon 64 3200 Temp and Upgrade

[rajindergill]

I have a socket 754 Athlon 64 3200 Newcastle running on a K8n-e deluxe motherboard. The temps from the processor are really starting to annoy me as it idles at 45-50 and goes upto 65-70 when playing splinter cell/GTA San andreas.

I thought it was a motherboard temp problem so attatched a coolermaster aerogate to see the temps and they just confirmed the same temp as the MB. Further I have a thermaltake K8 pure copper silent boost cooler which I have reset several times with Coolermaster Shin-etsu paste.

I'm now contemplating getting rid of the MB and processor and upgrading to Dual core. What would your suggestion be for the following options:

1. Keep my 6800GT AGP card and get a X2 3800 and MSI K8n-neo2 board (cheapest option)?

2. Keep my 6800GT AGP card and get a X2 4400 and MSI K8n-neo2 board (£130 more than option1)?

3. Get a PCI-E MB and X2 3800 and a new Gcard (Gigabyte 3d1) - most expensive - don't really think its worth the change to PCI-E yet.

Really it is between option 1 and 2. Can you give me your thoughts.

[Dougal]

You'll be able to sell your 6800GT AGP easily.

The x2 3800+ is overclockable to almost the same power as a 4800+ on water, so you should be able to get 4400+ speeds on air.

[Scarlet Infidel]

Go for option 1, I would defnately stay with agp with that card. As dougal says you can always overclock the processor.

[jimborae]

I have a socket 754 Athlon 64 3200 Newcastle running on a K8n-e deluxe motherboard. The temps from the processor are really starting to annoy me as it idles at 45-50 and goes upto 65-70 when playing splinter cell/GTA San andreas.

I thought it was a motherboard temp problem so attatched a coolermaster aerogate to see the temps and they just confirmed the same temp as the MB. Further I have a thermaltake K8 pure copper silent boost cooler which I have reset several times with Coolermaster Shin-etsu paste.

...............

It could be that the motherboard is reporting the wrong temps & what program are you using to monitor the temps? Until bios version 1.8 the MSI K8N Neo2 was notorious for reporting incorrect higher temps.

If it is the bios reporting wonky temps have you tried flashing the motherboard bios to a newer one? Also motherboard monitor 5 (MBM5) is a good program for monitoring temps & voltages.

Finally what's the airflow like in your case? It's possible that the case is the problem, not the motherboard.

[Scarlet Infidel]

He said he checked the temps with an aerogate.

[Dark Horse]

I get the impression that the s939 agp boards aren't great for overclocking, I think the DFI s939 nf3 Ultra is up to usual DFI standards but it is still a bit tweaky atm

Could be worth waiting for the new Uli boards with both AGP and PCIe which perform and overclock within 1-2% of nf4 and would make upgrading much easier.

[sawyen]

Could be worth waiting for the new Uli boards with both AGP and PCIe which perform and overclock within 1-2% of nf4 and would make upgrading much easier.

agreed...

[theuncharmed]

Those temps are a little extreme. Sounds like a problem with airflow. Can you post a pic of your PC?

Any of the above options you mentiond would be good - option 3 will have to be done at some time so why not now (if you have the money).

Why do you need dual core? Perhaps just opt for a venice core and get a neat overclock with it?

[rajindergill]

The case is a Lian-Li PC7 Aluminium, with one rear 80mm fan, an Enermax Coolergiant PSU 435W, 3 hard drives, 2 DVD-RW drives. I don't think airflow is that bad, because my P4 northwood 2.8 in the same rig didnt ever get over 35 degrees.

The thing I'm struggling most with, is to go either X2 3800 or X2 4400. I'm leaning towards the 3800, firstly price but secondly, I think a 10% overclock should be achievable quite easily which means the core frequency would be 2.2GHZ the same as an X2 4200/4400.

[theuncharmed]

The case is a Lian-Li PC7 Aluminium, with one rear 80mm fan, an Enermax Coolergiant PSU 435W, 3 hard drives, 2 DVD-RW drives. I don't think airflow is that bad, because my P4 northwood 2.8 in the same rig didnt ever get over 35 degrees.

The thing I'm struggling most with, is to go either X2 3800 or X2 4400. I'm leaning towards the 3800, firstly price but secondly, I think a 10% overclock should be achievable quite easily which means the core frequency would be 2.2GHZ the same as an X2 4200/4400.

But then a 10% overclock on 4400 will mean its 2.4 and its got more cache.

horses for courses.

[rajindergill]

I've finally done the deed. Orderd the X2 3800 and MSI K8N Neo2 board. Did not see the point of spending an extra £200 to get the same graphics card. Better speding £75 on a new Motherboard instead. Will let you know how the rig works next week.